NFL Power Rankings: Pittsburgh Steelers and 3 Teams That Bounced Back in Week 5

Week 5 of the 2011 NFL season was great for AFC teams looking for big, bounce-back victories—well, for these three teams, at least.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Coming into the weekend, all signs seemed to point to the Steelers suffering yet another loss to continue their post-Super Bowl malaise. Ben Roethlisberger was hobbling around with a sprained foot, Rashard Mendenhall and James Harrison were both due to sit out (Harrison for the rest of the season) and, to make matters worse, the red-hot Titans were coming to town.

Then, like clockwork, the Steelers remembered who they are and, more importantly, how much they enjoy playing at Heinz Field, with thousands of Terrible Towels twirling the wind in their favor. Pittsburgh pummeled Tennessee, 38-17, behind five touchdowns from Big Ben and a dominant effort from its defense, which held the Titans to 66 yards rushing.

The Steelers should keep the upswing going when the 1-4 Jaguars come to town in Week 6.

Buffalo Bills

With last week's trap-game loss at Cincinnati behind them, the Bills returned home to treat the good folks of Buffalo to a 31-24 victory over the nightmarish Eagles. The win was easily Buffalo's most complete since its Week 1 whipping of the Chiefs.

Granted, the defense surrendered almost 500 yards to Michael Vick and the Philadelphia offense, but it more than made up for its shortcomings by forcing five turnovers (four picks, one fumble).

Meanwhile, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Fred Jackson did their thing, throwing and running all over the field to preserve the good feelings for the home fans. Next up, they'll take their show on the road across the state to take on the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.

Oakland Raiders

The Raiders honored the memory of team owner Al Davis by, well, just winning, baby. A week removed from a disappointing but not entirely unexpected home loss to New England, Oakland went into Houston and snuck out with a 25-20 victory over a hot Texans team.

It wasn't pretty for the silver and black, with just 278 yards of offense for themselves compared to 473 for the home team, but a win's a win. The Raiders survived poor performances by Jason Campbell and Darren McFadden with plenty of help from the powerful leg of Sebastian Janikowski, who went 4-of-4 on field goal attempts.

They'll return to the East Bay for a three-game home stand starting Sunday, when the Browns come to town.

Josh Martin's Week 5 NFL Power Rankings

1. Green Bay Packers

2. New Orleans Saints

3. Detroit Lions

4. New England Patriots

5. Baltimore Ravens

6. Buffalo Bills

7. San Diego Chargers

8. Pittsburgh Steelers

9. San Francisco 49ers

10. Washington Redskins

11. Houston Texans

12. New York Giants

13. Dallas Cowboys

14. Oakland Raiders

15. Tennessee Titans

16. Cincinnati Bengals

17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

18. Atlanta Falcons

19. Cleveland Browns

20. Chicago Bears

21. Carolina Panthers

22. Seattle Seahawks

23. New York Jets

24. Kansas City Chiefs

25. Minnesota Vikings

26. Philadelphia Eagles

27. Denver Broncos

28. Jacksonville Jaguars

29. Arizona Cardinals

30. Miami Dolphins

31. St. Louis Rams

32. Indianapolis Colts